About ODESSA
& The Collection

Statement

Each collage is a meditation on memory, depth, and the quiet drama of things that persist beneath the surface. Working across fiber & textile, paper, and digital illustrative mediums, the work asks what it means to hold something together — and what it means to let it fray.

Deep down, we all desire to be remembered. How would you ask to be honored? What tools would you use?

I am an Antiguan-American Fiber Artist and filmmaker based between Antigua and New Jersey. My body of work is a peek into my diary — a visual honoring of my story as a growing queer, Black, Caribbean artist. I use textures as a way to process heavy emotions: grief, yearning, depression. Through these intense sensations, I visually capture my tight grasp on moments of tenderness and intimacy in my life, my dreams, and my everyday experiences within the Black Caribbean community.

I draw inspiration from the work of Bisa Butler, who uses vibrant texture to reclaim stories within Black history and the present day. Creating vibrant, overtexturized, fiber collage portraits began as a response to moving from room to room throughout college. With every move, I had to condense my wardrobe, trinkets, and art portfolio. Though this is a part of life, I was left empty inside — dreading the next time I would have to shed myself again.

It occurred to me I could reclaim this shedding as a way to take inventory, reflect, and preserve in scraps. The Odessa Ocean Collection is that archive — built from layers the way the ocean builds itself from countless currents and tides.

Mediums